Nitish Kumar's Rajya Sabha entry: Who will take over Bihar CM's post? A look at the frontrunners

The BJP could lead the next government in Bihar, according to NDA sources

• Nitish Kumar to file Rajya Sabha nomination, sparking shift talk
• BJP may lead Bihar with JD(U) getting two deputy CM posts
• Nitish Kumar's son Nishant set to enter politics soon

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Nearly four months after being sworn in for a record tenth term as the chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar is set to file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday, a step seen as potentially setting the stage for a significant political shift.

Speculation is mounting that the next chief minister of Bihar could be from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the single largest party in the Assembly with 89 seats.

Probable CM candidates

The BJP could lead the next government in Bihar, according to NDA sources quoted by The Indian Express, with the JD(U) expected to receive two deputy chief minister positions as part of a power-sharing arrangement.

Potential CM candidates include deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Bihar minister Dilip Jaiswal, and Digha BJP MLA Sanjiv Chaurasia. Meanwhile, the JD(U) may push for Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Nishant Kumar as deputy CMs, with Nityanand Rai also reportedly eyeing the chief minister’s post, according to the report.

Amid intense speculation over a likely leadership change, union home minister Amit Shah is expected to be in Patna on Thursday, fuelling rumours that the ruling alliance is gearing up to formalise the leadership transition in the state.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant is also set to enter politics, though his exact role is yet to be decided.

"On the eve of Holi, I have some good news to share with the people of Bihar. It has been some time since there have been demands, from within the JD(U) as well as from among the state's youth, that Nishant, the son of chief minister Nitish Kumar, join politics. Decks have been cleared for that and a formal announcement will be made in a day or two," Shrawon Kumar told PTI.

When asked whether the JD(U) supremo's son, an engineering graduate who is in his 40s, could be one of the two party candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections, Shrawon Kumar said, "Anything is possible. All would be made known in a day or two after top party leaders sit down to discuss these things."

Shrawon Kumar has been a close aide of the JD(U) supremo since the Samata Party days in the 1990s.

Close aides of Nitish remain sceptical about whether he would project Nishant as his natural heir, especially since he has consistently criticised dynastic politics. The decision to bring his son into the JD(U) signals a notable departure from that long-held principle.

Others see it as a strategic step aimed at preventing the party from fragmenting once Nitish steps aside, and at countering potential power tussles involving leaders such as Sanjay Jha and Ashok Choudhary.